The Creative Impulse...

...hit me at the pumpkin patch just a little over a week ago. This sight, though wonderful in it's own right for all of it's seasonal sensory delightfulness didn't push my creative start button.



Taking a walk down Scarecrow Alley didn't jumpstart the creative batteries either.



Though, some of these Scarecrows are really cool...







No, my "ah-ha moment" happened when I waltzed by a bin full of these moldy, crusty examples of gourdy goodness...



Yes, gourds!

I cannot believe that I have overlooked these glorious hardshell gems in the moldy rough before! I mean, think of the artful possibilities!

I know what you're thinking.

You're saying to yourselves, she's lost it. Finally driven over the edge by desicated Fall fruit. Stay with me peeps. There is always a method to my madness, however bizarre it might happen to be.

Yes, back to the glorious gourds! First of all did you know that gourds are a member of the Cucurbitaceae Family? What the hell is the Cucurbitaceae Family you inquire? In horticultural-tard terms (yes, I am a horticultural-tard, but that discussion is another post in and of itself) the Cucurbitaceae Family and the Cucumber Family are one and the same. Who knew? Well, not moi. That's fer sure. Did this "lost on me" knowledge turn my creative knob from stop to start? Well, no. Hel-lo? Horticultural-tard, remember? I digress.

Perhaps it could be that my knowledge of the amazingly deep and varied history of gourd as craft and art caused my creative juices to sluice about the crevices of my brain with abandon? Ah, that would also be a no. Don't get me wrong. I think all of those gourdy gourd ladles, vessels and even gourd birdhouses and banjos are pretty darn neato, but the images of those objects parading about my mind sure didn't provoke me into gourd bin dumpster diving mode (dumpster diving is a rite of creative passage for many a sculptor out there - you just never know what treasures lurk in your local trash heap).

No, what I was thinking as I happened upon these ready-made future objets d'art was, "Man, all that these gourds need are some eyeballs and some weapons and they'd look awesome..." So, I bought a cartload. Yes, I did...Despite the look on both my husband's and daughter's faces as I wheeled my blackened moldy treasures up to the checkout line.

You know the look.

Remember Ellyn Burstyn's expression in The Exoricist as Linda Blair's body heaved willy nilly from bed to ceiling while in the throws of demonic possession??? Yeah, that would be the look. However peeps, my vision for this gourd posse was startlingly clear and I wasn't about to let any member of my family dissuade me. Nosirree!

Their expressions have since softened due to the fact that I've fervently scrubbed the mold off of my gourd buddies...Treasures I tell you! I have THE VISION. Yes, I do. Stop looking at me like that! Jeesh.



So what about these particular fibrous fantasy objects caught my eye and sent me into a creative frenzy? In fact, let's take that question one step further, shall we? What is it about any object, idea, substance, errata that provokes one to purchase a cartload full of them? Or boosts them headlong into a trash receptacle looking for them? Or pushes sleep from beyond the bedside realm during the wee hours of the morning in favor of obsessing over wrestling T-bone steaks, I mean them (going back to the pronoun, a safer alternative)?

For me, it could be a shape or form (I am attracted to organic forms, human anatomy, nature in all of its myriad twists and turns), a texture (the sleek sheen of silk, the exquisite bobbles of boucle, the warmth and softness of freshly sanded wood), pattern (golden honeycomb, a cobblestone road, a twill weft) and oftentimes color (deep reds, vibrant greens, rich ochres) that start my wheels aturnin'. Sometimes it is simply a word or an idea (um, yeah, like crocheted meat). And like the gourd acquisition, these inspirations hit me when I least expect it, but are welcome nonetheless.

I'm really interested as to where you find your inspiration, impulse, muse. Are you taken creative hostage by fruits or vegetables at your local supermarket? Maybe a certain piece of music rockets you into the creative stars? Maybe it is simply the outline of a leaf, the brush of your child's hair against your cheek, the glow of the moonlight in the night sky? I want to know what pushes your envelope into the creative zone. I want to know where, when, why and how your muse drags you over to art and craft sooplies exclaiming, "You NEED these! Acquire them now by any means necessary!" And how do you feel about that damned muse anyway?

Feel free to comment here or blog about it if you'd like. Let's shoot for making my gourd story seem normal!